Someday
by Ferdy 63
Summary: Baby has graduated from college and is moving on with plans to join the Peace Corps but Johnny Castle still haunts her dreams. Will she ever get over that summer at Kellermans?


"Frances Houseman," the dean announced, and Baby stepped forward in her cap and gown to receive her college diploma. It had been a long four years at Mount Holyoke. There were moments when she wanted to just walk away, join the Peace Corps and leave the hallowed halls behind. Finally, though, she had made it. She held a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and she was ready to go out and change the world.

Her parents were waiting after the ceremony to take her to dinner. They were beaming with pride. Lisa, who was now married and 6 months pregnant, had even come along with them. She loved them dearly but she had been their little girl for long enough. She announced with pride of her own during dinner that she had already volunteered for the Peace Corps and would be leaving in a few weeks time for her first assignment.

Her mother cried, her sister smirked and her Dad nodded and smiled. It was exactly what she'd planned since she was 15 years old. It was going to be an adventure and a chance for her to make a difference. She couldn't wait to get started.

She had packed up everything from the tiny apartment she'd shared with two friends for the past couple of years. The family went to collect it all when they finished dinner. She had given away most of the ratty furniture and had packed the rest in a number of cardboard boxes. Her father managed to fit them in the trunk but had to tie the lid closed with a piece of old rope. The only thing she still had to do was collect her mail for the last time.

She walked to the bank of community mailboxes while the rest of the family waited in the car for her. Inside the tiny cubicle was a magazine, a couple of graduation cards and one small odd white envelope. It was addressed to Frances "Baby" Houseman. There was no return address. She was too curious to wait so she tore open the envelope. Inside was a most unexpected letter.

"Dear Baby (or Frances if that's what you go by now),

I've thought of you almost every day for the past four years.

There was never a doubt that you would do great things and now you're

on your way. I don't really know what else to say. I just wanted to

congratulate you on your graduation. I'm proud of you and I wanted you to know that you changed my life for the better and I'll never forget you. All of the best of luck to you as you go out to change the world. Maybe we'll bump into each other somewhere out there along the way.

Love, Johnny"

Tears sprang to her eyes as Baby read and then re-read the letter. Johnny Castle. How did he even know she had graduated or where to send the letter? She leaned back against the wall as her hands began to shake. She had gone to sleep every night with a picture of him in her mind and prayed she'd dream of him. Every guy in a leather jacket who ever passed her on campus would cause her to take a second look, just in case it might be him. She had dated a couple of guys while in college but none had come close to making her feel the way she had with him during that summer at Kellerman's.

She was lost in thought for a moment just looking at his handwriting. Then she heard her father honking the horn. She quickly wiped her tears and stuck the letter back in the envelope. Her parents didn't need to know anything about this. They'd never approve and she honestly didn't want to have to share this with anyone. It would be hers alone to treasure.

She climbed into the back seat of the car and pushed the mail down into her bag. As they began the drive home, she asked Lisa how she was decorating the nursery. That would provide a good hour long conversation and with luck, they would be home before she had to do more than nod as Lisa went over every detail of her décor.

Everyone was tired by the time they pulled into the drive at home. They had dropped Lisa off at her house a few blocks away with Baby promising to return early the next day to see her new niece or nephew's room. They decided to leave the boxes until morning and head on inside for the night.

Both her parents went straight to bed and she went to her room pretending to be exhausted herself. In truth, she was wound so tightly from all the excitement of the day and especially the letter from Johnny that she knew she'd be up for hours.

Once the house was quiet she tiptoed downstairs to make a cup of tea. She sat down on the loveseat in the den waiting for the water to boil and read over the letter again. He said he'd thought of her every day. She could feel the tears threatening again and quickly wiped her face. She had assumed Johnny would have moved on and, maybe not forgotten her, but pushed the memory of that summer far back in his mind. He didn't seem like the type that would carry a torch especially for a little mousy looking girl like her.

Suddenly the tea kettle began whistling and she ran to silence it before it woke up her Mom and Dad. She poured the steaming water over the tea bag and returned to her comfy spot on the loveseat. Her glance fell to a photo album sitting on the bookshelf on the opposite wall. She sat her teacup on the end table and walked over to pick the album up.

She began flipping through the pictures. The beginning of the book was pictures from years ago. There was a shot of her holding her drivers license, one of Lisa in a prom dress standing next to an uncomfortable looking guy with bad acne, one shot of her parents goofing around on a golf course and one of the whole family standing around the Christmas tree. Further on in the album she found her high school graduation photos and then she found pictures from the family vacation at Kellerman's four years ago. Her mom had never shown these photos to her. Perhaps she hadn't wanted to bring up memories of Johnny.

Her mother was a picture taking fool and carried a camera everywhere. She had taken tons of pictures of the family doing every possible activity while they were at the resort.

There was a picture of her and Lisa trying on wigs and Baby could just make out Penny standing in the background. She wondered what had happened to Penny, where she was now. There were a lot of shots of her father on the golf course and of Lisa in every outfit that she owned. Baby wasn't in many of the pictures because she had been busy with dancing and Johnny for most of that time. Suddenly, there he was. It was a picture of Johnny and Penny right before they'd done their dance on that first night. God, he was so gorgeous. Her mom had caught him looking directly at the camera with a kind of half smile. She touched her finger to the picture next to the image of his face.

There were times like this moment when his absence was a physical pain, an emptiness. She wanted so desperately to see him again. He had made his feelings pretty clear though when she had first tried to contact him in the fall of her freshman year at Mount Holyoke. She managed to get a phone number from a contact at Kellerman's and had called him, breathless with excitement. He was polite when she told him how much she missed him. She could tell, though, that something was wrong so she asked him. "Look, Baby," he began, "I really care a lot about you. We had probably the greatest summer ever." She smiled recalling all they'd managed to fit into those few weeks. "The thing is," he continued, faltering a bit, "You and I are headed in two different directions. You're in college. I'm still dancing, moving around all the time. I think maybe we should just say goodbye. I don't want to hold you back." She could hear the emotion in his voice and started to interrupt him, assuring him he could never hold her back, but he stopped her. "No, let me finish, Baby. I also don't want to feel like I have to hold myself back in case an opportunity opens up somewhere else. We're from two different worlds. I'll always love you, Baby, but this isn't going to work. I can't be your Ivy League boyfriend and you can't give up everything to follow me around from job to job. It's just for the best that we end things right here."

She made a feeble attempt at changing his mind but deep down she knew he was right. As much as she loved him, he didn't fit into her college plans and she didn't fit into his life. He told her again before they ended the call, "I'll never regret it, Baby, never." She had managed to hold her tears until after they said goodbye and then she had cried for days.

Would she ever get over Johnny Castle, Baby wondered as she pulled the photo from the album and wrapped it inside the letter she'd just received. Maybe we **will** bump into each other someday, she thought, just maybe. It was getting late and her tea had grown cold before Baby finally felt ready for bed. She looked at the picture one more time before she turned out her bedside lamp. "Please let me dream about him tonight," she whispered into the darkness as she had nearly every night for the last four years.

Four Weeks Later

Baby had said goodbye to her parents, gone through a week of training at a Peace Corps Office and gotten her first placement. She was being posted to a small town in Costa Rica in South America. She would join three other volunteers already stationed there. They would be operating a small clinic and a school that would teach adults and children reading and basic arithmetic. They also had a kitchen that would provide one meal per day to the villagers. Baby was going to be helping the local women set up a business selling their woven goods to a larger market, possibly even internationally, to help alleviate some of the devastating poverty in the region and working with a doctor to teach prenatal and infant care. The infant mortality rate was extremely high in the village.

The plane trip from New York to Costa Rica seemed interminable. When they finally landed at the airport in Limon, Baby was exhausted. She had to get her bags together and then make it to a bus headed for the small village near Talamanca before her journey would be over. The heat and humidity were overwhelming for someone like her used to the cooler temperatures of the northeastern United States. The rapid fire Spanish being spoken by the crowds around her was hard to follow. She had taken Spanish in college but hearing it spoken by natives was quite different than carrying on a conversation with someone in class.

After getting lost twice and finally getting directions from a street vendor, she found her bus. It was already crowded and she had to sit next to a rather large woman holding a gigantic brightly colored bag. By this time, her shirt was soaked and sticking to her back and her hair was clinging in damp ringlets to her forehead and cheeks. The temperature on the bus was increased by the tightly packed bodies and until they started moving there would be no air circulation at all. Baby plopped her big suitcase under the seat and perched on the small space left on the edge. She followed her neighbor's example and kept her smaller bag on her lap.

She seemed to be the center of attention when she first boarded which was understandable since she was the only foreigner onboard. Most people quickly lost interest as the bus began to move and Baby settled her head back against the seat getting as comfortable as possible for the long bumpy ride ahead.

A particularly nasty jolt woke Baby a couple of hours later. Her head was resting on the pillowy arm of her seat mate. She apologized but the lady simply smiled at her. The landscape outside the bus had changed dramatically. The city had been replaced by dense vegetation with colorful birds flitting around among the leaves.

Most of the other passengers were sleeping in their seats despite the continued rough stretch of road. The early evening air had cooled a bit so it was more comfortable. Baby still couldn't wait to get to her new home and have a shower. Her perspiration combined with the dust flying through the open windows of the bus had left her feeling like she was coated with a thin layer of dried paste.

Her neighbor had opened her gigantic bag and was pulling out parcels wrapped in waxed paper. It turned out to be something like an empanada and she offered one to Baby. Having heard the horror stories about the unclean water, Baby was wary of eating a stranger's food but took a piece so as not to seem ungrateful or haughty. The lady encouraged her to eat, eat because she's too thin so Baby took a bite of a corner. It tasted good. She didn't know if she was just really hungry but the little pocket of beans, meat and spices was delicious. "Muchos gracias," she told her new friend and the lady smiled at her once again.

The road had gotten smoother as they continued traveling and within the next hour, they were on the outskirts of a village. The bus continued through dusty streets to a small building in the town before coming to a stop. Baby heard the bus driver announce "Talamanca" as the doors shushed open. Baby stood and reached for her suitcase under the seat. Quite a few other passengers were disembarking as well so there was a good bit of shuffling until everyone had exited the bus. Baby looked up to see her seat mate waving good-bye as the bus pulled away. She waved back, smiled and shouted, "Adios!"

Someone from the Peace Corps group was supposed to meet her here so she began searching the crowd for a person who looked like they might be looking for her. She soon found a rusty old jeep parked near the back of the bus depot. Someone had hand painted Peace Corps along the side. A young woman who looked to be Latina was sitting behind the wheel. She began waving and smiling as soon as she saw Baby.

She ran up and started shaking hands, "You must be Frances. I'm so happy to meet you. I'm Maria. We're going to be roommates in the village. We call it Corazon de la Esperanza or just Corazon." The girl's vivacious personality was a bit overwhelming, especially in Baby's current state of exhaustion. She tried her best to smile and reciprocate the excitement but it was beyond her.

Maria continued, "Oh, gosh, you must be so tired. I remember the first day I got here. Come on let me help you with those bags and we can be in Corazon in about half an hour or so. You can sleep as late as you need to tomorrow." It was relief to see that her new roommate understood her situation and she sank gratefully into the passenger seat of the jeep as Maria stowed her luggage in the back.

"So, how many Peace Corps volunteers are working at Corazon?" Baby asked as Maria navigated the narrow dirt path through the jungle.

Maria replied, "Right now, we have Dr. Mansfield. He's older, maybe 45 or 50 but the people love him. Then there's Jack, Ricardo, you and me. I'm a nurse so I work with Dr. Mansfield. Ricardo is my boyfriend and he's been helping the villagers with building small houses and getting a community garden started. Jack works mostly with the kids, teaching basic reading and math and just goofing around with them. He's been teaching some of them how to do American dances. They're crazy about him."

Baby was surprised. "I used to do some dancing myself," she told Maria, "Maybe I can get in on some of those dance lessons." Maria smiled, "It's a lot of fun. Ricardo and I join in sometimes, too."

The two young women chatted for the rest of the drive about inconsequential things. Just as dark was descending, they pulled into the tiny clearing in the jungle that housed Corazon de la Esperanza. It was primitive but clean. Several families stood around the central building as if they were waiting for something. Maria jumped out, clapping her hands, "Oh, you're in for a treat! I had forgotten but tonight the children are doing a show for their families. They're doing dances that Jack taught them." At any other time, Baby would have been just as excited as Maria but right now all she wanted was a hot shower and a place to lie down. She felt completely drained.

She reluctantly followed her driver over to the makeshift "stage" area. It was a patch of cleared ground surrounded by 5 or 6 torches. Suddenly, the scratchy sound of a small record player could be heard and Baby was shocked to hear a classic American rock song come blaring out the window of the building. Chubby Checker was singing, "Come on baby, let's do the twist. Come on baby. Let's do the twist" The children came strutting out the door wearing huge grins and twisting along in a line until they were all assembled. The parents and siblings assembled were having a great time and were joking and laughing while clapping loudly for their little ones.

The next song was slower. It was the song "Stay" and as the music began the kids paired off into couples to do a sort of simplified merengue. Baby was really impressed. She was clapping as hard as the parents and could feel herself beginning to move with the beat. When the dance was over, the children took their bows and then everyone started calling for "Meester Jack" to come out. Maria looked over at Baby and said, "See I told you they love this guy." Baby smiled and looked back toward the door of the building.

A man had stepped into the doorway. He was still partly in shadow but he looked so much like….no, that was not possible. Baby just shook her head. She was exhausted and probably dehydrated and the music was bringing back memories. She needed some rest.

She was about to turn and ask where her room was when the man moved just a bit further out into the yard in order to show off with a flourish and a bow. Baby felt a little dizzy. It looked just like, but it couldn't be, but it was. The man she was looking at in the middle of the jungle in Costa Rica was Johnny Castle.

Maria looked over at Baby. "Are you alright? You got so pale all of sudden. Are you feeling sick?"

Baby shook her head. "What did you say this guy's name is?" she asked quickly.

Maria was perplexed by the sudden change in behavior, "It's Jack, Jack Castle. Is there something wrong, Frances?"

Baby shook her head again, "No, I'm fine. I'm just confused. I know that man and his name isn't Jack. It's Johnny. I know him! What is he doing here?" She felt dizzy, everything started spinning. That last thing she remembered before starting to fall over was Johnny shouting her name as he ran towards her.

When Baby woke up a bit later, she was lying in a room with a large ceiling fan overhead. There was a cool cloth on her forehead and she could hear voices from nearby. She started to sit up but the room began to spin again before she made it even a few inches off the thin mattress beneath her. She groaned feebly and reached up to feel her forehead. It felt hot but she wasn't hot. She was actually feeling chilled. It must be the ceiling fan.

Why was everything spinning? She couldn't seem to focus on anything. It felt like the whole room was revolving around her. Suddenly, she felt the unmistakable sensation of her stomach rejecting its contents. She leaned over the side of the cot and threw up violently. It hurt so much. Her whole abdomen felt like it was cramped into one huge knot and she was also beginning to shiver. "Food poisoning," she whispered to herself.

Johnny had run in when he heard Baby being sick. He heard her whisper. "Did you eat something in town, Baby? Is that what's causing this?" he asked.

She lay back and looked up. It was him. How on earth had Johnny Castle ended up in Costa Rica? She just stared for a moment but then he reached down and touched her forehead and asked again, "Have you eaten anything since your flight?"

"Yeah," she answered meekly, "an empanada on the bus. A lady gave it to me. It's okay, though. She was a really nice lady." Then another bout of vomiting hit. Johnny was holding her shoulder and wiping her hair back. God, how embarrassing. She had found him again after four years and now she was vomiting all over his shoes.

"Don't worry, Baby," he whispered, "The doctor is on his way. You're going to be fine. Everything is going to be okay. Johnny's here."

Baby leaned gratefully into his chest and closed her eyes. "Johnny's here" kept repeating over and over in her head. She remembered the last time she'd heard those words. Penny was so sick in that tiny cabin. Johnny had held onto Penny then just like he was holding her now. She needed to get her father, she thought. She needed to leave and get her father for Penny. She started trying to stand up but Johnny was holding her back. Why was he holding her?

"Johnny, I'm going to get my dad. He'll know what to do for Penny," she told him. Johnny took her face in his hands, "Baby, you're Daddy's not here but we have a doctor. Everything is going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you this time. Just lie down. Everything is going to be fine."

Baby lay back down. Of course her daddy wasn't here. She knew that. What was wrong with her? The light was so bright. She couldn't stand it. She closed her eyes. The next thing she knew there was a soothing voice floating above her and hands pressing on her abdomen. Then she felt the pinch of a needle entering her arm and there was blissful peace and blackness for a while.

When she awoke, the room was dark and a soft blanket was covering her. She also realized that her dirty, travel worn outfit had been replaced by a soft cotton slip and her skin and hair felt clean and soft. Someone had cleaned her up and changed her clothes.

She was a bit disoriented but when she looked across the room and saw Johnny sitting on the floor sleeping, everything came flooding back, the long trip, seeing him standing in the doorway, the sickness. But he was here. He was actually here. She laid her head gently back down and simply watched him sleep.

He looked almost exactly the same, maybe a little thinner, which was probably due to this tropical heat. His hair was a little longer, not as neat as he'd kept it before and it had been lightened by the sun. His darkly tanned skin was set off by the white t-shirt he was wearing. God, he was beautiful. Baby smiled. Just to see him here in the flesh was like one of her dreams come to life.

"Hey," he whispered. He had awoken while she lay staring at him. "So you finally decided to wake up, huh, sleeping beauty?" He stood, walked over and sat on the cot next to her. His hand cupped her cheek and pushed the springy curls back from her face. "You feel cooler now. You were burning up before. How do you feel?"

She lay staring at him a moment longer. "Is this real?" she whispered.

"Yeah, pretty crazy, right? Johnny Castle working for the Peace Corps," he replied.

"Do you want some water?"

At the mention of water, her throat clenched. "Yes," she croaked, "Water, please."

He poured a small cup and held it to her lips. Nothing had ever tasted sweeter. She realized she must be dehydrated. The small cup was gone in three swallows. As he pulled it away, he said, "That's enough for now. The doctor said to take it easy at first."

Baby reached up and touched his arm. It still just didn't seem possible. "What are you doing here, Johnny?" she asked him.

He looked away as if embarrassed. "You need to rest now, Baby. We can talk about that later."

"No, Johnny. All I've done is rest. How long have I been asleep anyway?" she asked.

He looked back at her and reached to brush the hair off her forehead, "About a day and a half I guess. You passed out on Friday night and it's about 3 am Sunday morning now."

"Okay, so I'd say that's enough rest," she said in disbelief that she'd been out so long.

"Was it food poisoning?"

"That's what the doctor said. He gave you something to knock you out until it passed. You were a pretty sick girl. Didn't anyone at the Peace Corps warn you about eating and drinking stuff you weren't sure of?" he asked

"Yes, of course. I don't know why I did it. The lady just seemed so nice. I didn't want to refuse her offer. It would have been rude," Baby explained.

"It would have been rude but you wouldn't have gotten sick," he scolded.

"I know. You're right," she told him as she slowly sat up. Her head was still a little swimmy but she was much better. She reached to stroke his cheek and asked, "So, no avoiding the question this time. What are you doing here?"

He put his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. His lips were touching her forehead as he whispered, "God, Baby, I missed you so much."

Her heart was pounding. The nearness of him was intoxicating. Even in her weakened state, he was irresistible, but she wanted answers and so she pulled back and stared directly into his eyes, "No avoiding the question. What are you doing here?"

"Okay, okay," he replied. "After the last time we talked, Penny and I got a couple of jobs dancing, mostly around Vegas. It didn't pay a lot but it was work. Then Penny met this guy. He's a cop out there in Nevada. He's a good guy, really treats her like a princess, you know? Like she deserves. Anyway, they got married two years ago and after that it was pretty tough to find any kind of work dancing. I was flat broke and sleeping on Penny's couch. I couldn't stand the thought of going back home and having to hang sheetrock for a living. I was, I was ashamed of not being able to support myself. I kept thinking about you and how I wanted to be someone you'd be proud of." He looked away as he continued to talk, "I was pretty low, the lowest I've probably ever been. Then, one day there was this story in the newspaper about Peace Corps volunteers and it just seemed right. I needed something useful to do and they needed people so I signed up. I worked in Harlem for about six months and then they sent me here."

Baby sat quietly and listened, watching Johnny as he talked. How could he not know that he had always been someone she was proud of because of who he was, kind, caring and honest. He continued, "I knew you'd talked about joining the Peace Corps but I never thought we'd really cross paths. You had always talked about Southeast Asia so I took postings in other areas. I wasn't trying to set up a way to see you again. I swear. As much as I wanted to see you, I wouldn't have done that. I didn't want to stand in your way for anything. You have such big dreams and plans. I want you to be able to do all those things."

Baby had leaned her back against the wall as she'd listened, "Why do they call you Jack and how did you get my address for the letter on my graduation?"

"Jack is just what the doc started calling me when we first got here so everyone else picked it up. It didn't really matter to me. And as for the address, let's just say having a friend who's a cop can be very useful in some situations," he smiled.

"And how did you know when I was graduating?" she continued her interrogation.

"Penny. She called your father a couple of months back to let him know that she's pregnant and to thank him again. She really loves your dad. He was so good to her. She never really had a father in her life. Anyway, he told her about your graduation. She said that she thought I'd want to know and after that I just had to talk to you somehow. The only thing I could think of was the letter," he explained.

Baby could see her backpack on the floor. "Would you hand that to me, please?" she asked him and he handed it to her. She unzipped the side pocket and pulled out a tiny lacquered box. She opened the lid to reveal a folded paper. She took the paper and opened it for him. It was the letter he'd sent her.

There were tears in her eyes as she told him, "Johnny, I love you. I never stopped loving you. For four years, I've looked for you around every corner. I thought you were gone for good and then that letter came. It gave me hope again that maybe I would find you. I just never in a million years thought you'd be in Costa Rica."

Then they were both laughing and crying at the same time. He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose, "I always hoped that one day I'd see you again, that our paths would cross. I just never thought you'd feel the same way. I'll never let you go again, Baby."

They held each other for a while whispering and laughing about Kellerman's, watermelons and long rainy afternoons. She told him about Lisa and her family. He told her more about Penny. As the sun was beginning to rise, she realized that she was getting terribly sleepy again. He gently eased her back onto the cot, "You need to rest. We'll talk more later," he promised. As she began to drift off she heard him say, "I love you Frances Houseman." She smiled and thought to herself, "This had better not be another dream."


End file.
